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After 4 days of a rain . Maybe a break with more on the way. More than just a silver lining. Deep watering for our palms in Southern California . Harry

This young macrocarpa just “popped” today. Color should last at least two weeks with the cooler weather. Last winter, one of my macrocarpa held a bright red leaf for two months.

Dimitris, I believe it's just a queen palm which can be somewhat variable. Ones that have thick trunks like that one tend to be more cold hardy based on what I have witnessed here in Texas.

This is published due to the efforts of Dr. Donald Hodel. Effusive gratitude to him ! I have hand pollinated this plant and distributed the offspring as Anthurium sp. 'Loja'. so now the lucky recipients has a true name for the plant. Please don't ask about availability. I have none, however I do plan to hand pollinate again, and the resultant offspring will be ready in 5 or 6 years ! https://ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2025-11/New Anthurium sp Loja Ecuador Croat and Hodel PALMARBOR September 2025.pdf

A few nice Satakentia at a nursery in Homestead, Florida. Needless to say I walked out with a 5-gal to take back to South Texas! 😉

I have two specimens in the ground one definitely a hookeri the other probably not . (On the left the hookeri) The hookeri produced a very colorful leaf in autumn (Pictures of front and backside) while the other one produced a leaf during summer which far less and only partly colorful and color lasted for a very short time, one day or two) And one specimen still in pot in my cold frame opened a new leaf about two weeks later after hookeri. It is supposedly 5he watermelon variety

Triple-headed Hyophorbe lagenicaulis at Montgomery Botanical Center.

Nice fat Carpoxylon at the same nursery.

Being fortunate to have land with a good microclimate is very different than trying to create warm spots in your yard. I will focus on what can be changed. Canopy takes years, 10 years in my case though some oaks beyond the property to the south help keep it warm. My yard was a bare lot tree wise a few shrubs in front. Where do the coldest fronts come from what direction? For me that was mainly North, with a little NW or NE. This means the north part of the yard will have the cold hardy palms and the south will have the more tender palms, especially behind the house. Radiative (little wind) or advective(constant wind) events are different. Canopy or location near the house works nicely when there is no wind but wind makes any manipulation of a local warm spot much more difficult and in some cases you wont even get half a zone improvement with wind. The problem with wind is that it carries away the radiative(black heat the earth surrenders at the end of each day. You want to keep it around as long as possible. Wind velocity can be high enough to negate any heat trapping of radiated heat from the ground. So I set out to put in cold hardy palms to the north(front yard), wind block to the east and west and I did have a 7; solid fence and some oaks behind my yard in a common area that break wind and then I put in fast palms in the tender area to the south in back for canopy. In the overhead photo, its easy to see the palm nuts yard. N is to the street. The most tender palms in front take to 26F and are sun lovers that get a lot of summer sun, all day pretty much. Sunny areas are harder to keep wet in sandy soil so those in front have big deep root systems and are generally waxy of leaf( Bismarckia, copernicia, sabal uresana). In back are the more tender 10a palms and they are bunched to keep things warm, Serenoa repens and to a lesser extent dwarf bamboo help with windbreak to the east and west and are up to 12 foot tall and laugh at cold here. In back is the area for the zone 10a wet lovers which are bunched and watered efficiently by broadcast sprinklers with large Roystonea and C. Oliviformis and Beccariophoenix Alfredii overhead to trap down heat. Even with all that planning, an extended(8hr) 30 degree advective event 4-6 years back caused a fair amount of leaf burn on lower leaves of the 10a palms but they have survived it and grown back well. Zone pushing can work half a zone for a short radiational event, longer advective events will challenge even half a zone push. And remember a 9B palm survives 9B, it lives. That doesn't mean it doesnt get some serious unsightly damage that will take 1-2 years to grow out. If your yard is empty, make a plan to adapt it to be more zone push friendly. Start with palms that are not a zone push add the zone pushes later as it grows in.

Just wondering - with a few exceptions, it seems like most of our regulars have been awful quiet on here lately and just wondering if everyone's alright. Hope y'all are good!

This is the 5th winter in the ground. The " Love Palm" (there's a story there) was purchased as a juvenile at a Home Depot in 2012. It has lived in two apartments, a town house, an office, briefly in a storage unit and in a garage before putting down roots five years ago. On nights below 29 or so it gets the Christmas lights and blankets treatment. Last winter we had snow on the ground for about three days and since the fronds are now way up there and too high for my ladder, I was unable to protect them. It experienced about 80% defoliation. But here we are in November and looking pretty good. The Washingtonia next to it was two feet tall five years ago. I can't protect it because it's so covered with thorns that any fabric would come off in shreds but it's been fine against that south facing wall.

I spent last week in Paris, and had an amazing time. I was shocked at the number of plant shops and plant-people. Going through my pictures to post, I'm disappointed I didn't take more. But I'll share what I have, and try to keep it Palm related. *First, I'd like to say that the French people I came across were very kind made me feel welcome. I was there 8 days - and not all for fun and vacation. I felt like I got a great idea for what that city is like, and I would def recommend it as a spot to visit. I know there are plenty of Europeans on PT. I hope you all feel as welcome in America and I did in France! Merci! I'm in zone 8a east NC - so Paris was a great 8b comparison to the sorts of plants we have native, and ones I zone push a bit. Oleander, Camelia, and Bamboo are pretty much in flower pots at every restaurant you walk by. Plenty Rhododendron and other evergreens used in landscaping. As well Yuccas and a lot of Trachycarpus. I got a ton of ideas for some new plants to try out at home. The Trachys were dark green and seemed to grow really well. Probably a great ex-situ climate for them. The one thing I did not see were the Phoenix sp. in Luxembourg Garden. We went there, but I'm assuming they bring those large pots inside when its cold?...oh, and the pots... As someone from a rural area, the number of potted plants was shocking. I don't have a great reference for what other large cities are like - but in Paris, most every restaurant and shop had potted plants inside, or out. When you'd look up, there were plants all on the balconies and hanging on windows. And plant shops in almost every city block. I'm assuming this mostly due to the inability to plant anything around a concrete jungle. But I loved the effort they put into it. Add on the fact that Paris has (literally) miles and miles (sorry, kilometers) of garden walkways around the city, too. It was a great place to visit for an American palm-talker. Beautiful tree ferns in a courtyard close to us - these were in-ground but surrounded by large walls and heated areas. Just a few of the Trachys I saw Local plant shops were loaded Random: but there are Parakeets all over the parks And a few shots of our walk around the EIffel. My wife and I strolled one day from the Louvre Garden to the Eiffel Tower. We stopped for wine and drinks (plural), and walked through shops along the way. There were color leaves dropping everywhere. We came around a corner and saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time set back behind the buildings. It was beautiful. Then watched the sun set from the top. It was one of the funnest days we've ever had together. Au revoir!

Here is a nice Chamaerops sold at the Parisian street flower shops,

Maybe it is time for some update The last freeze was in 2018 and the "jungle" is getting nice, maybe a bit out of control Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, with only 1,2 meter of stem, it is flowering continuously Another Archontophoenix, probably x albang Butiagrus Bismarckia Beccariophoenix alfredii Caryota obtusa Brahea armata Chrysalidocarpus decaryi Brahea edulis Copernicia alba I will post more later

Like Harry, I was drawn to the site of a rainbow 🌈 visible from my walkway, looking west. Unfortunately, to get to the end of this rainbow, I would need to dawn my wetsuits and paddle out to find it. After all the pollution runoff, I will wait a couple of days before returning to the ocean. The palms lining my walkway were also a draw for my eyes.

They never seem to get boring when working in the garden theres always a adscendens or two within viewing distance. And they never get boring to look at, one fantastic understory palm!

Iguanura wallichiana var. major. Tim

I was busy over autumn and winter planting palms, and the results are starting to show. With one of wettest seasons I have seen for a long time all the palms that went in are looking quite good. The usual brown edges and tattered leaves is fine after all they came out of a greenhouse and into the ground, a bit of dry leaf is fine it’s the new healthy growth that is more interesting to me, a good sign there tucked in and growing well. Areca vestria orange bentnickia condapanna borassodendron machodonispinanga sp maroon crownshaft black stem baroniichambeyronia divaricata Johannesteijsmannia altifronskerriodoxa elegans Chuniophoenix nanachamaedorea genoformis Veitcha joannis

Some nice looking seedlings liking the warm weather and the good rainfall. There’s quite a mixed bag of lollies in this little haul of seedlings.

There's a nice Sabal palmetto at Square Boucicaut in Paris:

Thanks for posting, this brings back fond memories. French people are not unfriendly, they are more reserved. In California it is illegal to drink alcohol in public spaces like sidewalks or parks. My wife and I wished to have an evening picnic on the Champ de Mars, facing the Eiffel Tower. At the wine shop I attempted to ask the shopkeeper if wine drinking was permitted there. We had difficulty in this conversation, I assumed because of the language barriers. However, it was because he, a French wine merchant, found it inconceivable that an older, well dressed couple would not enjoy wine with such a picnic !

As a first American born from British immigrant parents ( Ireland / England ) , I am embarrassed to say I’ve never been to Europe . Not sure I will ever get to . I have plenty of friends that have been to Paris and never get tired of the beautiful pics. My brother lived in Scotland for over a year and spent quite a bit of time in France . He said the same thing as you , people were polite and friendly , the baguettes were heaven ! The gardens are beautiful . It’s funny , he was warned , before he moved his family over there , that the French didn’t really care for Americans . His experience was quite the opposite. The only negative was driving through some very narrow corridors, being from California , was a challenge. Thank you for the lovely pics! Those Trachy look very healthy. Harry

Another little batch of sabinara that are a welcome addition to the collection. One lone hydriastele kasesa. A few variegated Adonidia merrillii. A few Rhopalostylis chatamica. And a few chamaedorea glaucifolia for the garden. Some nice fresh seedlings is always a welcome sight!

10 month update.

Lights are crooked because I haven't untied their power cables yet. I sat on this table just to make sure it was solid and I'm about 210 pounds. I stood on it hanging lights. I think it can handle some seedlings. Now that it's done I found all the extra braces I had tucked away for it.

I use the medium size bark chips. I never get the ones with artificial color though. Since I have dogs, they track less dirt onto pavers and concrete when they walk on the bark versus dirt or even some mulch. We already have very pourous sandy loam soil here in my part of Leucadia. As Bret noted, it doesn't break down as fast, but after years of doing it, I'm adding on top of the stuff that broke down from the prior years.

Here’s an update on my Mealy. I wouldn’t call it fast by any means but steady movement and I’m ok with it. Definite color to the emergent leaf. Last picture shows the previous leaf shape. -dale

Looking out 10AM today 7 days after opening and the transmitted red light is as good as it gets. Winters here are great for these palms, summer they hold spears and sit there and are short lived in color. When the wind blows, the leaves exhibiting transmitted red vary kind of like a flame. But they are slow growing, 3-4 leaves a year at this size.

That's exciting news, though I would have preferred Anthurium pettyianum, or A daroldii...still pretty cool Darold!

There are some who are still swimming in Lake Constance, with an air temperature of 5 degrees Celsius and a water temperature of 10.2 degrees Celsius at the moment. Yesterday, I saw people ranging in age from 20 to 85, and everyone we spoke to said they had been doing it for a long time and had gotten used to the much colder water in winter... We were once in water at 13 degrees Celsius, but it still felt cold.

@Tracy Very nice! I love the gate you have , the palms are beautiful. Somebody beat me to the pot of gold! ( stinking leprechauns ) . Too cold to paddle out up here , even with a 3/3 Psycho. Harry

@Than Thank you. The wall helps, but it has provided a false sense of confidence. I have unsuccessfully tried zone pushing skinny robustas and a majesty palm in the past. Tarp covering on a really cold night is now my protection limit. I have a regular white Nerium Oleander and a “Petite Red” oleander. I trim the petite red every year a bit, but it doesn’t get much taller than what you see. I have thought about removing it due to space constraints, but I love the flowers plus it helps support the fronds on my Butia (hybrid?) The white oleander is a monster at about 15’.

The flower shops with hundreds of small pots and the green parakeets are so European. These shops look exactly the same in Greece and our cities are also full of those green winged invaders

when things get large the maintenance work explodes. Mulching, watering, removal of massive amounts of dead material, irrigation maintenance, care of marginal palms in the palm ER. I didn't see it coming but now that its here I have far more work than I care to do in the florida heat. Maybe my reaction is part hurricane Milton cleanup but there is a lot of work in the heat before that storm hit. I can't imagine having an acre to maintain and going all in on planting. 15 years ago a had a lot more energy and had planted out trees at 5 different homes before moving to florida. I used to think the 5 acre farmettes behind me had great yards. Now I see them cooking on the riding lawn mower mowing 4 acres of grass that grows 6" a week, like weeds, in summer. If you dont cut it you get millions of biting bugs. I still like to work moderately in the yard in the winter, very therapeutic. But my tiny 0.3 acre yard with mature palms is a lot more work than I imagined 15 years ago. In ten years you may say "what have I done"? Kudos to you Merlyn for taking on the future challenges you have committed to! All grown in it will be an amazing sight!

Wow 👍 amazing

Also beautiful, John 👍🤗

2.5ft still going, getting concerned about its stability.

A nice batch and plenty of variety. Harry

Why are the loureiroi seeds stored in two different bags?

I’m okay and hope you are too!

Before you know it you will have a room full plants!

I finally timed it right to collect the pollen from the male metallica, a little tap on the flower and the pollen was shead on the leaf time to collect with a simple bag method that will be stored in the refrigerator. So no sticky pollen.

Yes, we are already excited and nervous. Sabine had to laugh because Otto gave her the two syagrus romanzoffiana and I said, hey, what about me? Thank you very much for your information and explanations, Richard 🤗 Yes, I will do it like this and begin. Heat mats are on their way, but will not arrive until the middle of next week.

$25 for 1,000 $12 shipping in 1st class box US only, includes USDA mandatory inspection

Jon, actually I didn't even know one was up there. Like you, I saw the best examples of the ones on Palmpedia and was already envisioning them growing in my garden. A bad habit of mine..

Did Otto travel by auto? 😆 I don't think the palm seeds you received have a short shelf life - waiting to germinate won't be a problem. But no reason to wait, you can start them now either by baggie method or in pots and later put them on your heat mat. Best of luck with the germination!

I think , the small or medium sized chips break down a bit quicker than larger wood chips. Mixing in an organic garden top soil prior to putting down the chips would help the absorption while the wood chips help with retention in dryer months , perhaps insulate in colder months . I use a coarse or larger wood chip here in my climate and it begins to break down within a year. Harry

You can grow multiples but limit it to 2-3 per pot . I like them as singles too. I bought one that had a bunch of stems and they all grew to mature plants in the ground but in pots they will eventually compete for available nutrients . Singles would be easiest done while small before the roots become intertwined. I think you have time . Harry

Hi bill you could try contacting rosebud farm in Kuranda near cairns Rich trapnell has passed on (rip) but his son Nate may be able to help Rich was a big importer of seeds into Australia from Madagascar and well known and respected in the palm industry they have a website rosebudfarm.com if not try Rohan at troppo propagation a email at troppopropagation@outlook.com he was Rich trapnells main propagater and still has a online palm seed,plant business I hope this is of some help a definite link to the Madagascar seed imports into Australia in the mid to late 1990 good luck regards Richard